Rebels
by EvFan5282
Summary: When Max is released from the lab she was kept in all her life, she finds out that she will have to compete in the Hunger Games for District 12 alongside Katniss, Peeta, and one other who will make or break her.
1. Goodbye Psychopaths!

**Hey! Hope you like this crossover! Please review! I'll give you a virtual cookie if you do :3**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride or The Hunger Games!**

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Max's POV

"I HATE YOU!" I yelled as a scientist told me what horrible thing they were doing to me. They were entering me into the 75th Hunger Games. A fight to the death on _live _TV. Not even that, a Quarter Quell! There will be 2 victors, one male and one female, pulled into the reaping and 2 new tributes.

They pulled their sneaky little tricks so only _my _name was entered into the female reaping. No other new female child will have a chance of being selected for District 12. No one even _knows _who I am, let alone I have _wings_! Yeah, you heard right. WINGS. 'Cause these wackjob scientists have nothing better to do in their time besides graft avian DNA into a child. And keep them in a dog crate, poking them with needles, and running tests on them all their life.

See what a lucky girl I am? I get to be abused all my life! How fun, and exciting is that! Not.

"Now Maximum, we have to see how you will do under life threatening circumstances." The scientist named Jeb warned me. I was furious. They want to see how I do under "life threatening circumstances", huh? Well, let's see how _they _do protecting themselves from an outraged 14 year old bird kid. I kicked the crate door and broke it and jumped out of my cage. What surprised me was that they didn't even try to get me back into the crate. How annoying! Can't they even put up a decent fight? Jeez, if I knew they didn't fight back I would've broke out many years ago!

Jeb smiled and said, "You're free to go Max. Just be there tomorrow at the town center for the reaping. Or we will have to hunt you down." I knew that was a threat. The Erasers (half wolf half human hybrids, who are not a pretty sight to see) would be after me if I didn't show. I made a break for the exit as fast as I Max the mutant bird kid could run. That's all I needed to leave, an exit.

_See ya later, suckers!_, I thought as I found the back door, ran through it, and took to the sunlit skies. Then I realized this is the first time I ever have flown outside. My heart swelled with joy and I felt the rays of sun hit my body.

Sentimental aren't I, eh?

It felt good to stretch my wings. How about this; it felt good to be out of a _freaking dog crate _for the first time of my life!

I flew out over the forest of District 12, taking in the sights of the forest and my District in which I've never seen before. I decided to land near this lake in the forest. I looked around and saw a coat hanging on a tree. Hey, a free coat! Why not? It's a great cover up for my wings!

I took the coat and put over me. I walked around, looking for shelter for the night when I saw something. Fruit, sitting in the middle of the ground, calling my name. This is really my lucky day, besides finding out the fact I have to kill people and possibly will be killed on live TV for people's entertainment.

I ran toward the fruit, but before I could get to it I was lifted into the air by my foot. From a snare. Now, isn't that pleasant?

"Damn!" I snarled and tried to rip it off my foot. It's useless. It's on it pretty good. I have to give credit to whoever set that snare down. They know how to hunt.

"You know, stealing is punishable by law." a voice said from down below. I looked down to see a boy, bout 18, leaning against the tree. I struggled a little more.

"You know, sometimes law doesn't protect from child abuse." I retorted, thinking about the 14 years of experimentation on me.

"Well said." he said and went to come help me down. He took out his pocketknife and cut me down from the tree. I screamed when I started falling down from the tree. I'm so pathetic. I had the ground with a hard thud. I landed right on my wing!

"Ouch." I mumbled and stood up. He watched me with a bemused expression.

"Why did you steal my coat? And how did you get up there?" he asked with a grin.

"You know, most people say 'hello' when they see a stranger." I said.

"Hello. Now answer my questions, please." he said and leaned against the tree again.

"I took the coat, because I was cold, and I ended up there, because I saw food on the ground. Hey, I was hungry! And by the way Mister Interrogator, who are you?" I snapped when he laughed.

"Gale. Gale Hawthorne." Gale introduced himself and held his hand out. "And you?"

"Max. Maximum Ride." I said and shook his hand. Then he frowned.

"I've never seen you before, Max. How old are you? 16? 17?" Gale asked.

"I'm 14." I replied. His eyes went wide in amusement.

"You look older than that. Actually, you look older than Katniss Everdeen." He said with a smile. My brow furrowed and I frowned.

"Who's Katniss?" I asked confused, and he gave me a look of disbelief.

"You're saying you don't know Katniss Everdeen. Where have you _been _all your life?" he said in disbelief.

_Um, I don't know. Maybe in a dog crate in a mental psycho owned lab?_, I thought, but didn't say out loud. Instead, I said, "THAT my friend, is classified information." I said, pushing my blonde hair behind my ear.

"Um okay. Well, the sun is setting and I _really _have to get home, so bye." Gale said and took off in the opposite direction. What can I say? I guess I have that affect on people. I found a nice sheltered cave and fell asleep super fast.

And I didn't even have one nightmare. Though that would change sooner than I would have expected.


	2. Hello Hunger Games

Max's POV

I woke up to a nice bright and sunny morning. I yawned in pleasure of being free.

Too bad I've been pretty much sentenced to death.

I got out of my little cave, took off my newly acquired coat, and extended my wings. I stretched them out, and took off into the sky. I flew over the forest and District 12, taking in all the wonderful sights of this place before I have to leave and get myself killed.

You may be wondering, "Why don't you worry about being spotted in the sky, Max?

The answer to your question; people are so stupid, they probably mistaken my shape for some overgrown hawk flying over the area. It's really that simple. As long as I don't fly too close to the ground and they see my sneakers. Now that would be a big problem.

After an amazing hour of nonstop flying, I saw that all the citizens of District 12 were gathering down below for the horrid reaping. I sighed in defeat, and glided down behind an abandoned building so I can land without being spotted by the average pedestrian.

As soon as I landed on the ground, I put on my coat and looked around to see if anyone saw me land. I sighed in relief when I noticed I actually went unseen. Finally something went my way.

I walked down into the town center, and instantly spotted Gale. I instantly ran to him as fast as possible, since he was a familiar face, and I really wanted to talk to someone for once.

Melodramatic, am I right?

"Gale!" I shouted as I got closer. His eyes widened in surprise when he spotted me running. I stopped right in front of him. He appraised the coat, and then looked up at my face.

"Hey Max. I just noticed, the coat suits you pretty well." Gale said with a smile. He was actually pretty nice. Compared to mental whitecoats, that is. If I wasn't going to compete in the Hunger Games and die, I just might enjoy spending time with Gale every day.

"Why thank you." I said, and gave a little twirl. Then I noticed of how out of character that was for me. What do you know? I even surprise myself sometimes. Gale laughed.

"You're actually pretty cool. I hope you're not brought into this stupid deathtrap." he said and spat on the ground. I frowned in confusion.

"Someone you know was brought into this mess?" I asked curious and he nodded.

"Katniss. She won last year with Peeta Mellark, and now they're forced to marry each other because of it. Heck, they're probably already married." Gale said, glaring heavily at the ground.

Poor ground.

"I'm sorry." I said sincerely. He looked up in shock.

"You're actually the only girl, actually person, I know who actually _doesn't _want them together." he said in surprise. Then he shrugged. "Then again, you don't even know who Katniss is." I gave a jerky nod. "I really hope you're not picked, because you're pretty cool." he said. I looked down to the ground in defeat.

"Can I tell you a secret?" I asked while looking down and he nodded. "I was born in a lab. These crazy scientists took me away from my parents and grafted avian DNA into my genes. In short, I have wings. That's why I needed your coat. They raised me there, taking horrible tests on me every day. I was never allowed to leave. Until yesterday. Yesterday, they told me I was guaranteed a spot in the Hunger Games to see if I 'do well under life threatening circumstances.' That's when I made my escape and went into the woods. I saw your coat, I put it on. I saw food, tried to eat it, since I was and am freaking starving. _That _part didn't work out well. So now, here I am, ready to go into a stupid, idiotic deathtrap they call 'entertainment.'" I said, with a grimace on my face. I can't believe I told a complete stranger that. I must be losing my touch. I looked up and saw the shock register on Gale's face. God, I'm such an idiot! Why must I blabber on about a private matter?

"Seriously?" he asked, in shock. He looked at my back, which I had the coat over. I nodded, and pulled him behind the building where I landed. I shrugged of the coat, revealing my messed up clothes. I took in a deep breath and snapped out my gorgeous brown-white wings, the only part of being born in a lab I like. Gale whistled in awe.

"I knew something was up with you. And you actually trust me?" he asked in disbelief and I nodded. He came up to me and gave me a tight bear hug. I was actually pretty shocked.

What did you say? Maximum Ride actually can be shocked? Apparently the answer is yes.

I hugged him back.

"Yes. I do trust you. You seem like a really nice guy who needed someone to actually trust you." I spoke calmly. He pulled me away, and looked into my eyes.

"You look more like an angel, actually." Gale said, admiring my wings. An angel. That made me want to laugh my freaking head. I'm more like the opposite of an angel. I smirked at the thought of that, and tucked my wings back in. I pulled the coat back over my wings, and zippered it shut.

"Thanks, I guess?" I said. Gale took both my hands and looked me deeply in the eyes. I flinched at the very random contact.

"Don't get yourself killed in there. You seem like a great girl, Max." he said, and to my absolute surprise, he kissed me fiercely. Now I was completely shocked, and had my first kiss to make my day.

These were the emotions I was feeling;

Happiness at the thought I was free, regret for sharing my secret, thrilled from my first (and probably only) kiss, fear of the Hunger Games, anger at the people who invented the Games, confused as to why Gale showed a sudden interest in me, and worry about leaving Gale.

A great feeling for a super paranoid bird kid who _hates _emotions!

"I won't. Thanks to those wackjobs, I'm genetically enhanced!" I said sarcastically. Gale chuckled. We started walking toward the plaza where the reaping was about to start.

"You're pretty funny. If you get out alive, I want you to be my girlfriend." he said and I blushed. I shoved Gale playfully.

"We can start now you know, so I actually have a good reason to come back." I said and kissed him on the lips. Now I'm confused even more. Is this love? It feels pretty good. Gale chuckled and pulled me closer.

"You have a point." he said. I looked around, and saw a shocked looking girl looking straight at me and Gale. Gale noticed it too, and waved hello at her. The girl just kept staring at us. She was making me feel uncomfortable on top of everything else.

"That's Katniss." he whispered in my ear. I nodded. Okay and she'll be the female victor, seeing as I don't see any other. For the male victor, there was a drunken looking old guy, and a blonde boy who looked very scared. Huh, those victors look superman tough for _sure_!

Yeah right.

The ceremony went by super duper fast, since I was talking to Gale.

"Now, we will select a brand new tribute for girls." the lady with pink hair said solemnly. She paused for a minute, pulled out a name (ahem mine,) and said, "The female tribute is Maximum Ride! Congratulations, Maximum!" she said. A million heads looked my way. I pecked Gale on the cheek goodbye, and boldly walked up onto the stage to take my seat, wearing a bold and unfriendly expression. I looked at the crowd, and by the looks of it, intimidated some of them.

Ah, the Max charm!

The crowd looked at me like I was some alien. They gave me weird looks that pretty much shouted in silence _who is this chick doing on our stage_? Which made feel oh so special (note the sarcasm!).

"Now for the new male tribute." the lady said and picked a name out of the bowl. "The male tribute is…Dylan Batchelder!" I frowned. Why was the name oh so familiar? A boy 'bout my age started walking up to the stage with a triumphant smile. I stared at him.

Then I realized why I knew him. He looked like a miniature Jeb.

AKA, he's the psychopath's son!

Dylan walked up to the stage and took the seat next to me. I shifted over uncomfortably in my seat. I didn't want to be anywhere near this guy.

"Now we choose from the pool of past victors." the lady said, a little bit sadder.

"The female victor is," she picked up the one name from the bowl, "Katniss Everdeen."

Everyone looked very upset about this, and some people were even crying. Is she really _that _famous? I should've asked Gale a little more about her.

Katniss walked up onto the stage, looking depressed but had a spark in her eyes that said she wasn't giving up. Or something along those lines, that is. She took the seat to the right of me, and glared at me. Jeez, what did I ever do to her? Then I remembered I kissed Gale, and then I thought the 2 of them probably had a more complicated history than I thought.

"The male victor is," the lady said, "Peeta Mellark." The scared looking blonde guy walked up onto the stage and took the seat next to Katniss. Katniss looked determined about something, and so did Peeta.

"Now, good luck to all of you tributes, and may the odds be _ever _in your favor." the lady said, and guided us to this building where we say goodbye to everyone we know. Not that I have anyone to say goodbye to! Except Gale. We were brought into this huge room, where everyone came. Peeta and Katniss stayed near each other the whole time, and they both got a lot of visitors. I on the other hand just got Gale.

And who came to visit Dylan? You guessed it! The psychopath Jeb Batchelder and half the mental crew! After he spoke to his son, Jeb walked over to me with another wacko whose name is something fancy schmancy like ter Borcht. Something like that anyway.

"Hello, Maximum." Jeb greeted me like old friends. I glared at him in hatred. He offered his hand, which I took but squeezed it really, really hard. I smirked and let go when I heard a crack, and he winced in pain.

"Now, now, don't go immature on us. I just wanted to remind you we will be watching you on the TV screen to see your capabilities, and you are by no means to hide what you've been given. We need to see-"

"How well I do under life threatening circumstances, yada yada yada. I get it. Now go!" I yelled at him. I looked down to see a small 7 year old kid hovering around his dad. I know him. Ari. He's always been so cute and he was the only one who talked to me like I was a normal person.

Which says _a lot._

"Ari!" I said excitedly and picked him up into my arms. He smiled.

"Hi Max! Don't worry about the Games, I know you'll survive." Ari said. Then his voice dropped to a whisper, "Don't trust Dylan. I know he's my brother and all, but he's evil, and he'll stop at no costs to kill you." I was shocked by what I heard.

I pretended I didn't hear for my sake and Ari's sake, so I said, "Aw, thanks hon." I set Ari down, and I nodded at him to show I heard him. He smiled. Jeb nodded at me, and then left to go back to Dylan. Gale frowned, and it looked like he was about to ask me something when peacekeepers came in and told us we had to depart for the train. I gave Gale a quick hug before he was shooed out of the room. The peacekeepers guided us to the train that would be taking us to the capitol.

The train was super nice. The furniture was very fancy, there were people to assist us, and heck, my room was super amazing with a super large shower with a ton of buttons! I sure know what I'm doing tonight!

I saw clothes on my bed, so I grabbed them, went into the bathroom, locked it, and got into the shower.

It was freaking _heaven_.

I've never had a shower before, but it was great. It was big enough so I could extend my wings to wash them out with warm water. I washed my hair, and cleaned myself, and it was great I didn't smell of antiseptic anymore.

When I was done with my 2 hour shower, I turned the water off and put my _clean _clothes on. I put on 2 different layers so you couldn't see the indentation of my wings. After I was changed, I scanned the room to make sure there were no feathers lying around. I found one feather, and put it in my pocket for good luck.

I walked out into the main cabin of the train, and the old drunken guy was there and grinning at me.

"Had fun in there?" he asked me amused. I took a seat at the table across from him.

"It felt nice." I replied. "When's dinner?" He smiled at me.

"In about 15 minutes. Why don't you get the other three in here and we can all have a pleasant chat in here before dinner." he said, and I went into one of the other rooms where Peeta, Dyaln, and Katniss were. Huh, so they're already acquainted. Let's give them a round of applause! If you can't tell that was sarcastic, you have to start paying a teensy bit more attention.

"The guy sitting at the table wants us all to go in there and chat." I said firmly, leaning against the doorway.

"Haymitch." Katniss corrected me angrily. Wow, she must really hate me.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Well, dear _Haymitch _wants us all to make our lovely way to the dinner table to have a pleasant little chat before our well cooked meal. Now, are you coming, or will I have to drag you there?" I spoke sarcastically. Katniss glared at me, Peeta stood up to go, and Dylan stared at me with an amused expression. I rolled my eyes and went back to the old guy whose name is Haymitch.H

"They're coming." I reported as I took my seat again at the table. Haymitch stared at me amused.

"Katniss didn't give you a hard time?" he asked bemused. I rolled my eyes as the other 3 kids walked into the room and took seats at the table. I heard a noise to my left, and saw that the pink haired lady walked in.

"Oh, hello everyone. What are you all doing here before dinner?" she asked confused. I guess she wasn't used to seeing us all at one table together when it wasn't dinner.

"We are having a nice little chat, Effie." Haymitch replied amused. Effie looked suspicious, but then sat down in the seat next to Haymitch.

"Um okay. What about?" she asked, confused.

"Well, Haymitch and I had a little chat about my 2 hour shower." I informed her, and Haymitch chuckled.

"I've never seen a tribute take such a long shower before. Not even Katniss," Haymitch joked, looking at Katniss who was scowling at him. Effie laughed.

"Well okay. So Max, how old are you?" Effie asked me with polite interest. I sighed.

"14," I replied. _I think, _I thought to myself. Effie looked surprise.

"Really? You look like you're 16!" Effie exclaimed, and I chuckled politely. Effie seems nice. I decided I liked her.

"Well, _Max, _I've never seen you around before. Where are you from in District 12?" Katniss asked me suspiciously. Gulp.

"I used to live next door to Dylan and actually. I know his dad and brother very well, and his dad knows me from the inside out." I said. _Literally_, I added in my head. Dylan looked amused, and then I remembered Ari's warning not to trust him at all.

"My little brother Ari just _adores _Max. Every day after helping my dad out at his job, all he ever talks about is Max." Dylan said, and I glared at him.

"And why don't _you _ever help Mr. Know-it-all?" I snapped back at him, and he shrugged.

"Well, _I _don't like working in a lab." he snorts and I flinch a little bit at the mention of the lab.

"Well, _I _don't like it either!" I snarled at him, and he smirked.

"I guess it was a good thing we were both selected for the games." Dylan said and winked. I could've thrown him out the train right then in there, but then I remembered there were 4 other people in the room.

"Did I ever mention how much I hate you?" I told his sarcastically. He shrugged.

"Dad always told me stories about how much you complain about everything." he replied. I scowled at him.

"You try going through what I went through, then you might realize why I'm such a complainer." I retorted. He grinned. I wish I had a rock to throw at him. It would make my day.

"Yeah, talking with Ari all day must be very annoying." he joked, and I glared at him with daggers in my eyes.

"I don't understand what's going on here, but I have the feeling I'm better off not knowing." Peeta stated.

"You are." Dylan and I said at the same time.


	3. Train Ride

**Hey! Sorry that this is a sucky chapter. I promise the next one will be tons better! I just needed to post this so you knew what Dylan was like and I had to add **_**some **_**part on the train. But I promise the next one will be better and will have the other tributes in it :)**

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Max's POV

Dinner was freaking amazing! There was so much delicious food made, I had 9 helpings of all the food on the table. All the food was so freaking good! Everyone on the train stared at me like I was insane, because how much and how fast I ate. I didn't even snap at them. _That's _how good the food was. After I was done eating and Effie stopped staring at me in disgust, I went back into my room. I decided I should go for a quick fly before we got to the Capitol. When we get there we're probably not going to be allowed out of sight.

I locked my door to make sure no one comes in and realizes I'm not on the train, then opened up the window, took off my second layer of clothes revealing my wings, and jumped out the window. I unfurled my wings before I made impact with the ground. I caught the air current and started flying upwards, but I noticed Dylan waving at me through the window grinning like the idiot he was born to be. I gave him the finger and started flying up higher into the sky. It felt good to be in the open air once again.

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Dylan's POV

Max ate dinner like a freaking pig. I swear to God she ate 9 whole servings of everything on the whole damn table before everyone else was not even half finished with their second helping. Effie looked completely grossed out by her eating habits. Not that I blame her, of course. It was pretty darn gross. Right after dinner Max barged away from the table and locked herself in her room. I think I knew what she was going to do.

"What's Max up to?" Haymitch asked me frowning. I sighed and shook my head. I didn't want to expose Max. She was way too much fun to mess around with.

"She's probably going to bed. That girl can sleep like a bird that has been flying all day long," I said, comparing her to what she is actually 2% of.

I sprinted into my room and looked out the train window to see Max in action. I had to wait a minute or 2, but then I saw a figure jump out the window and take to the sky. It was Max unfurling her wings for a fly. I grinned and started waving at her to get her attention. She saw me, gave me an angry glare, and gave me the finger. I laughed, amused at her gestures. Max really has some serious anger issues. I witnessed as she flew higher and higher into the sky until I couldn't make her out anymore. I turned away from the window to find Katniss folding her arms against her chest. I sighed.

"What's up Katniss?" I asked her, walking away from the window. She glared at me.

"Why were you staring out the window?" she asked me suspiciously. I sighed and shook my head.

"It was nothing. I was just staring at the landscape along the way to the Capitol," I lied. She saw right through my lie. Man, she's actually pretty damn good.

"No you weren't. You were waving and laughing at something outside," Katniss said and sat down on my bed. I followed her lead and sat down next to her on the bed.

"You caught me. I was waving at a bird that was flying by and I laughed when it hit the train," I lied, giving something similar to Max flying off the train and flipping me off. Katniss rolled her eyes.

"You _would _do that," she retorted unhappily. Wonder what's up with her.

"I see someone's in a bad mood," I teased her and she glared at me. Once again, a girl with freaking anger issues! What is up with District 12 female tributes and anger issues? I just don't freaking get it!

"You would be too if you're in the Hunger Games for the second time and you were set on saving your best friend at all costs," she said, finally saying what was on her mind. I sighed. Girls. They're so emotional, they get offended at every little damn thing.

"Know what Katniss? Why don't the 3 of us have an alliance? We could probably trick the Capitol. You _are _a genius, you know," I said complementing her and trying to get her spirits up. She stood up and glared heavily at me and tears started running down her face. Oh God. Here comes the emotional you-don't-understand speech. Hooray.

"You don't understand! I acted on impulse when I took the berries and look where this got me and Peeta. We're in the horrible Games again, and we're going to have to kill innocent people again. One of us is going to die, and it's not going to be Peeta. He deserves more than I do. He has a family that _needs _him. The Capitol won't hurt him. _I _was the one who pulled the berries, not him! If I died, all the torture I put on the Districts will stop. Peeta would be able to live a normal life and everyone would move on with life," Katniss yelled at me with tears streaming down her face and fire burning in her eyes. That girl has some darn spirit for sure, but is an emotional wreck. Yet again, all girls are emotional wrecks.

But what Katniss doesn't realize is that we have Max. Genetically enhanced, tough, and winged Maximum Ride. Max would be able to help Katniss, Peeta, and I get out alive and unharmed. Then all the blame of Peeta and Katniss escape would be put on Max. I couldn't tell Katniss, but she's not the sacrifice this time. Max is our one and only sacrifice.

"I do understand, and trust me on this one. The 3 of us _will_ get out alive," I told her truthfully. There's no doubt about it. All we had to do was get Max to completely trust us. Then we would be saved. The Mockingjay will stay alive. By Max saving Peeta and Katniss, she saves the world.

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Max's POV

After my six hour heavenly fly, I flew back into my room and landed on both my feet. I pulled my other layer of clothes over my wings and fixed my hair so it wasn't obvious I was flying.

Yet again, it wasn't obvious I had wings.

I unlocked my door and walked back into the dining room where Haymitch was reading a newspaper. When I walked into the room, he looked up at me and smiled.

"Hey what do you know, she's awake! The other kids are in the television room watching the recaps of the reapings from other districts. You should go join them and see what you're up against." Haymitch suggested to me. I did what he recommended and silently joined the awkward party in the TV room. No one spoke a word as I sat down, and we all watched the recaps together.

* * *

For the most part, this year's tributes were very sad. I mean, like c'mon! There was a freaking _80 _year old woman in the Hunger Games. And she volunteered! And looking at the recaps, I noticed that Districts 1, 2, and 4 looked oddly prepared and most of them volunteered. Peeta told me those were career tributes who have trained their whole lives to participate in the games. What an amazing career path! The only 2 people who looked very promising were the District 4 male victor named Finnick Odair and the District 8 new tribute whose name is Fang Martinez. I decided I wanted those 2 for allies in the arena.

After watching the recaps and past Hunger Games, I went right to bed. I sprinted down the hall into my room and jumped on my bed. I swear the bed was as soft as a freaking cloud. Except it is not wet and you can't fall through it like actually clouds. I speak from experience. As soon as I made impact with the bed, I closed my eyes and fell into a wonderful deep sleep.


	4. Cinna

**OMG I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long! I had a nasty case of writer's block. I'm so sorry! I hope this chapter makes up for my lateness. I hope you like it. Please review!**

Max's POV

I woke up to the sensation of cold water being thrown on my face and kicked at whoever dared to throw water at me to wake me up. I _hated _being woken up by water. I speak from experience here!

Whoever that stupid person was grabbed my foot before it made impact with their chin. I rubbed my eyes to clear my vision so I could see who actually even _thought _about me attacking them and actually grabbed my foot, because that person actually has a _brain_. I opened my eyes to see Haymitch grinning at me and holding my foot. "Good morning, sweetheart." Haymitch said grinning as he dropped my foot on to the bed.

I yawned. I wasn't going to fight with Haymitch. I like him as much as I could possibly like someone, with the exception of Ari and Gale, of course. He's pretty cool for an old dude.

I got out of my super comfy bed and started to get dressed without thinking at all, forgetting that Haymitch was in the room. _Big _whoopsie right there. All I could say was at least he closed the freaking door when he came in to pour water on my face. He gasped as he saw my wings and I put my shirt right back over them in haste and got into a defensive position. Well crap.

"Please don't tell anyone! I'm begging you, just don't!" I begged, out of character for me. Haymitch was staring at me wide eyed. Well how lucky am I to forget someone was standing _right there next to me _while I took my top layer off? I'm a complete idiot. Dylan's probably going to a kick out of this incident. Haymitch took in a deep breath, shook his head, and sighed.

"I knew there was something funky up with you the minute you walked up onto the stage. Now I will leave the room and pretend nothing interesting ever happened," Haymitch said smartly and started walking toward the door. He opened the door, left the room, and closed the door.

"Good idea," I yelled so he could hear me. _Now _I was fully brought back to my senses and actually scanned the room to see no one was looking. I couldn't believe I forgot Haymitch was in the room when I got dressed. I must be losing my touch! Yet again, I was tired and got ice cold water thrown on my face. I got changed into comfortable clothing and noticed we were at the Capitol. Already. I opened my door and sprinted into the dining room and saw Haymitch sitting down _once again _at the table.

"How long was I out?" I demanded of him. He looked up at me amused and grinned.

"You've been out all day yesterday and all morning," he informed me grinning in amusement. I stared at him in shock. So I've been out over 24 hours? Jeez fourteen years of experimentation really do take it out of me.

"Lovely. Where are Katniss, Peeta, and Dylan?" I asked him, and this guy with brown hair and wearing gold eyeliner walked into the room. I raised one eyebrow at his choice of eyeliner.

"The 3 other tributes are with their prep teams. And since we had 2 more tributes then as usual, Portia is prepping Dylan and I will be prepping you for the Hunger Games. Oh, how rude to not introduce myself. I'm Cinna, and I will be your stylist while you're here. And you must be Maximum Ride, correct?" Cinna introduced himself and asked me. I once again got ticked off at the mention of my full name. Why can't people just say "Max?" It's just one syllable compared to four!

"Just Max," I said dully, and Haymitch chuckled lightly. I whipped around and glared at him.

Haymitch grinned and said amused, "You're just full of surprises, aren't you Sweetheart? One minute you're begging me for something, then the next you're glaring at me." Cinna smiled a pleasant smile at me and Haymitch, and I noticed that it was genuine and not fake, unlike some white coats I know.

"Follow me so I can get you ready for the opening ceremony." Cinna said and guided me off the train. Haymitch followed me off the train, and Cinna guided me into a room with a mirror. He blushed and said shyly, "I'm not used to doing this, but I'm going to have to ask you to take your clothes off so I could prep you for your outfit and wax you." He might as well have thrown a brick at me just then. I retreated to the wall faster than the average person.

"No! I'm not letting you wax me, let alone take my clothes off!" I yelled at him and he put his hands up in surrender.

"I completely understand. It's usually not my job to prep, I just help design you're clothing and do your hair. Do you want me to just do my usual job?" he asked me and he rose up in my opinion. I moved up from the wall cautiously and warily.

"Hair, yes, but I'm getting dressed in the bathroom." I stated as I took a seat in front of the mirror. Cinna smiled and started to fix the mop that's called my hair.

I have to say, Cinna does a freaking good job with hair. When he was finally done, I looked in the mirror and saw my used to be messy blond hair actually in pretty feather light wavy layers. There were also a couple of accessories in my hair that actually brought out my chocolate brown eyes. _Finally _I looked nice for once. It's a big change from being tested on in a lab everyday wearing the same clothes most of my life.

"Whoa," I said. Wow, can I sound anymore pathetic? What the heck was that! Whoa. I'm losing my touch, once again. Cinna smiled at me and my idiotic response.

"Do you like it, Max?" he asked me smiling warmly. I shook my head sarcastically.

"Love it?" he asked again and I nodded my head once sharply and Cinna chuckled. He threw me a bundle of _really tight _looking clothes. I jumped up out of my seat in anger. Why was I angry? I don't know. I'm funny like that.

"I can't wear clothes this tight!" I complained holding up the bundle of clothes with I believe a horrified/angry expression on my face. Cinna gave me a very puzzled look.

"Why can't you wear tight clothing?" he asked me puzzled. Oh ho, so he's one for direct questions, eh? Well I'll give direct all right.

"Because I've got issues that don't need discussion," I said and crossed my arms against my chest. Why not just come right out and say I have issues? C'mon, even _I _know I have issues. Cinna sighed.

"You can trust me, you know. I can tell you're hiding something." Cinna said, dead on about the hiding thing, but I should probably make it clear that I don't trust _anyone_. Except for Gale. Heck, I don't even know _why_ I trust him!

I shook my head and said firmly, "I don't trust anyone." Actually, Cinna seemed kind of trustworthy. He was nice and, surprisingly, he doesn't hate me for my pickiness of clothing. So _that _ought to count for something.

Cinna smiled and said, "Okay, you don't have to tell me. So, do you like the outfit? I can make it looser if you want me to." Wow, he was _offering me _something. Now I like him as much as Haymitch! I smiled.

"Thanks that would be great. Do you have a thick undershirt I could put on?" I asked Cinna, and he smiled and nodded. He took the clothes out of hands.

"Yes I do, I'll go get it for you." Cinna said and walked out of the room. When he came back, there was a deep black undershirt in his hands and a much looser version of the clothing he gave me before. Nice thick clothing, may I add. I smiled and took it out of his hands.

"Thanks Cinna, I'll go get changed." I said and turned around and made my way to the bathroom.

I was almost to the bathroom when I heard Cinna shout horrified, "Wait, Max! I almost forgot, the rooms in here are bugged with cameras." I whirled around and stared at him in disbelief.

"Isn't that kind of intruding on personal space?" I asked skeptically, and Cinna sighed.

"Let's get back on the train. The bathrooms there aren't bugged with cameras, but there are microphones." Cinna said, and I sighed and nodded. Great. Everywhere I go is going to have microphones, cameras, or a combination of both.

He led me back onto the luxurious train, and I headed toward the bathroom that was in my room. I hesitated in the bathroom doorway, and made a decision I would probably really regret later. Oh well. Cinna saved my butt by warning me about the cameras. It's only fair that I show him my wings.

"Um, Cinna, you can come in if you like. I think I might need help with the back." I said reluctantly and winked at him so he would get the clue. Jeez, this is the third person who's going to find out about my wings! I really _am_ losing my touch today! I have too many issues with my brain. I should have a chat with Jeb about the bugs with my brain and maybe I could get them fixed.

Cinna smiled and said, "Sure. I'll be glad to help out." We both walked into the bugged bathroom and I locked the door. I laid the clothes on the floor and slowly pulled of my windbreaker. I have so many reasons why I shouldn't do this, but it was already too late to turn back.

I took off my windbreaker, and Cinna let out a faint gasp as I spread out all thirteen feet of my beautiful wings.


End file.
